Italian Unification

1859 – 1871

The smallest board here — fourteen territories, four powers — and the one that plays most like a puzzle. Sardinia has to unify a peninsula while Austria holds the north, so it rewards sequencing over strength: the order you take things in matters more than what you take.

The era at a glance

Period

1859 – 1871

Factions

4

Board

Italian Unification (1859–1871) — 14 territories

Regions

6

Players

2–8, any mix of people and AI

Price

Free. No download, no account required.

Who you can play

Each faction has its own passive strengths and one ability that changes how it fights. They are asymmetric on purpose — the same board plays differently depending on who you take.

Kingdom of Sardinia

The catalyst of Italian unification — carbonari_network influence costs 1 fewer unit; +1 reinforce in Piedmont.

Savoyard reformers turn a compact northern kingdom into the diplomatic and military engine of Italian unification.

Ability: Unification Drive: once per turn, convert a neutral Italian territory within range at zero cost.

Austrian Empire

Conservative power defending the old order — +1 reinforcement per turn, and a garrison that appears where the line bends.

Vienna defends its Italian possessions through garrisons, dynastic legitimacy, and a deep instinct for suppressing revolt.

Ability: Habsburg Garrison: once per turn, immediately place 1 unit in any Austrian-held territory.

Papal States

Spiritual influence — the faithful recover quickly, and once a turn a dispensation simply refuses an approach.

The Papal States wield spiritual authority and conservative loyalty, making central Italy as political as it is military.

Ability: Papal Dispensation: once per turn, prevent one influence attempt against any Papal territory.

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies

Southern stronghold — the Bourbon south refuses to fall the first time it is taken.

The Bourbon south is resilient, regional, and wary of northern revolution, relying on stubborn defense and local control.

Ability: Bourbon Resistance: once per game, a capture of your capital or homeland is undone.

Regions and what they pay

Northern Italy

3 territories · +4 per turn

Adriatic & Romagna

2 territories · +3 per turn

Central Italy

3 territories · +4 per turn

Southern Mainland

3 territories · +4 per turn

Deep South

2 territories · +2 per turn

Sardinia

1 territory · +2 per turn

Play this era

Start a game and pick the era in the lobby, or let a full campaign carry you through the whole arc — a single game can begin with legions and end in orbit. Guest play needs no account.